Why Go?You could roam the globe for decades and it would be tough to top what you are about to experience here. This is a place where an enlightened priest once mingled with transcend-ent artists on forgotten island utopias. Where the beautiful teenage daughter of a Spanish conquistador stared down an on-rushing armada of British pirates. It’s a haven for migratory birds, ranchers and fishermen where the mon-keys howl, alligators cruise the black water, and enormous 500-year-old trees bangled in delicate orchids shelter fluo-rescent fingernail-sized tree frogs and carnivorous jaguars under one canopy.

It’s also a place thousands of travelers simply pass through on their way to Costa Rica, ignoring the sweet Ar-chipiélago de Solentiname, mythic Río San Juan and spec-tacular Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz. Huge mistake. Spend some time and money. Explore. Take it all in. These are the places you imagined when you booked your ticket. This is why you travel.

When to GoDry season in the Rio San Juan runs from February to April with more sunshine and shrinking pools of water concen-trating migratory waterfowl in Los Guatuzos. From mid-September to October it’s possible to hook huge tarpon in the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the Río Indio and there is the best bird-watching around San Miguelito. And in November, dancers and artists from all over the country descend on San Carlos for the Río San Juan’s biggest party – the Carnival Acuático.

Best Wildlife- Spotting¨¨ Río Papaturro (p251)

¨¨ Aguas Frescas (p256)

¨¨ Islas Solentiname (p247)

¨¨ Río Indio (p257)

¨¨ San Miguelito (p246)

Best Places to Stay¨¨ Sábalos Lodge (p253)

¨¨ Hotel La Comunidad (p249)

¨¨ Río Indio Lodge (p258)

¨¨ Refugio Bartola (p256)

¨¨ Hotel Sábalos (p253)

San.Carlos..................244San.Miguelito.............246islas.Solentiname...... 247refugio.de..vida.Silvestre..los.guatuzos...............251río.San.Juan................251

San Carlos, Islas Solentiname & the Río San Juan

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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Río Frío

Río Pizote

Río Piedra

Río Papaturro

Río San Juan

NegroUpala

San José

Santa Elena

México

El Cairo

El Carmen

El MancarrónComunidad

El Pedernal

La Esperanza

Caño

Los Chiles

San Francisco

Correa

Laurel Galán

La AzucenaBuena Vista

Morrillo

SanCarlos

Refugio Nacionalde Vida Silvestre

Caño Negro

Llanurade Guatusos

85ºW

11ºN

85ºW

Lago CañoNegro

Islas Venada

(Elvis Chavarría)Isla San Fernando

Isla El Padre

Isla Zapote IslaGrande

IslaEl Bosquete

IslaMancarrón

Isla Mancarroncito

IslaAtravesada

Isla Sevilla

ReservaIndígenaGuatuso

Isla Ometepe (72km)

Lago de Nicaragua

COSTARICA

San CarlosAirport

Monte CristoRiver Lodge

SábalosLodge

Centro Ecológicode los Guatuzos

Sistema de Humedalesde San Miguelito

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Boca deSábalos

Refugio de VidaSilvestre Los

Guatuzos

IslasSolentiname

San Miguelito

Highlights1.Spot.migratory.birds.on.a.tour.through.the.wetlands.and.humid.forests.of.San Miguelito (p246)

2.Hike,.swim.and.stargaze.in.the.peaceful.Islas Solentiname.(p247)3.Dine.on.sweet.and.giant.shrimp.on.a.riverside.balcony.in.Boca de Sábalos (p252)

4.Scale.the.imposing.Spanish.fortress.in.El Castillo (p254)

San Carlos, Islas Solentiname & the Río San Juan